Is Gender Dead?

At the end of their article, Dembroff asks, “Are we nearing the end of gender as we know it?”, and I feel that the answer is both yes and no. The way people view gender in American society has changed a lot in the past few years, and I see this evidenced in my own views of gender, which have evolved dramatically over my time in high school. In middle school, I had no idea there existed genders outside of male and female, and now here I am identifying as nonbinary. 

Before going further, I think it is important to acknowledge that Dembroff’s question has to be analyzed within the context of American society. If we try to apply what they are saying to the broader world, we run into issues, because the way people in America view gender both now and historically cannot be applied globally. Many indigenous cultures pre-colonization had different perceptions of gender that were not inherently oppressive, and for some cultures reclaiming these views of gender may be more impactful than trying to get rid of gender completely. 

The way gender was taught to me as a child differs greatly from the way I, and many of my peers, currently view gender. However, I also realize that I exist within a bubble. I bet that the residents of the small town in Ohio that I spent the first seven years of my life in would not see eye to eye with me on gender. While I have come to realize that gender is a social construct, I also know that there are still many people who oppose this viewpoint. I also find that my identity and pronouns are frequently disrespected by the people around me, because although I am not a girl, I know that others still view me as one. People will probably continue to view me as a girl for the rest of my life, because gender and the gender binary are both so deeply ingrained in our minds.  

Now that may come off as pessimistic, but I also believe that we are making a lot of strides towards abolishing gender. We are nearing the end of gender as we know it in that more and more people are acknowledging that our society’s current perceptions of gender are flawed. We are making progress towards the end of gender, but before we go too far too quickly, we need to acknowledge the current perceptions of gender that people have, or else we will end up neglecting to address their impact on society. Gender based discrimiation and oppression are still major issues in America, and we have to acknowledge gender so we can properly address these issues and work towards creating a more equitable society.  


Comments

  1. Emily DJanuary 12, 2022 at 10:48 AM

    This is a really important mindset to have. Both these ideas can and do coexist. The gender binary does a lot of harm, but transitioning to somewhere else on the binary can bring comfort and joy for a lot of people. As views on gender change, we need to remember that everyone's experience differs and what might help someone could harm others.

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